Sanctuary Agency-Chapter 24: Change

〘Date: 2/11 - Monday〙

〘Time: 4:15 PM〙

〘Location: Texas, San Antonio - Crystal Forest Park〙

Silas stared at me with a menacing grin, holding his hand out at me and firing a barrage of Mires directly toward me. I acted quickly, gracefully and efficiently evading each orb of dark energy, rushing forward at blinding speeds and landing a Pulsing Fist upon his chest.

Silas grunted as he stumbled backwards, blocking my next series of strikes then countered with an elbow to my face, break the flow of my onslaught. He landed two body blows to my midsection, hooking my arm and taking me down to the ground with a hip toss.

Silas watched as I hurried back to my feet, chuckling darkly at me and moved around the arena. "You must forget that I am also Military Trained in CQC. I am the son of a Veteran Military General, this is why I rank so high in Tony's hierarchy. My family is the only thing holding us together, and I'll be damned if a rat like you breaks it down."

"Bubba..! I'm so itching to slice this guy's neck! Let me in! Let me eliminate the threat!" Rhea howled in the background, her blood pumping to join my fight.

I glanced back at Rhea over my shoulder, listening to her pleas to become unleashed. I knew unleashing her now would only stir more trouble, turning my gaze back toward Silas. "Stand by. In my eyes, this is still a Civil Matter... He's not beyond that. A Civil Threat..."

Silas chuckled darkly at my taunt, getting back into his stance, his dark energy flowing wildly around his body. "You still think you can be charming in this situation huh..? How cute...you won't be desirable when I rip your spine out of your body..."

I stood firm, my calming aura shifting in hues of silver and blue, my eyes glowing with clarity. Blue lightning began to crackle around my body as I actived my Unleashed State, pushing my body's limits even further.

"Take note of this form...This will be the last thing you see...This is a form that could rival that of a Tribal Leader. Bare witness to a King's true might, Unleashed Tengoku Mode!" I announced with confidence, veins slowly growing on my body from the amount of stress it was under.

Phanie couldn't help but to watch me with amazement, stepping forward out of her friends hold. "I can hear her...her words are speaking in mentality. To...help him..."

"But if you go out there...you'll be betraying us," Donna gasped, hurrying forward to gently hold Phanie's arm, noticing her eyes shining with conviction.

Cameron grunted softly as he knew that Phanie was completely shifted, my earlier speech now making more sense. He looked over at the leaf green haired man, his eyes twinkling with desperation. "Lief, you have to say something!"

Lief glanced at Cameron, holding his arms and shook his head. "There's nothing I can say that will change her mind. She's sold, plus...Ryder makes a good point."

"What? C'mon, man! You can't just give up on us too!" Cameron plead, grabbing Lief's sleeve in a desperate manner, his voice cracking with emotion.

"I'm not giving up on any of you...but I'm certainly giving up on what we've become," Lief said, closing his eyes and letting out a soft exhale.

Anastasia watched as her entire faction was now broken down into fallen pieces upon the board, her heart weighing heavy with guilt and shame in her very actions. She turned her gaze forward, watching as her strongest piece slowly deteriorated into...an enemy.

Silas dashed toward me at high speeds, leaping forward with a spinning kick, but I swiftly ducked under his kick and pivoted behind him, striking his back with my elbow. Silas stumbled forward, growling with frustration and swinging his fist back wildly at me.

"Too slow," I taunted, swiftly ducking under his attack once again, sweeping his feet from under him with a kick.

Following my sweep kick, I began to use my athleticism to perform multiple NY Flares, each kick striking him further into the air. I double kicked his chest, knocking him higher in the sky then performed a kip up to my feet.

I tapped the tip of my foot against the ground, watching as Silas descended to the ground. Lightning flashed in my eyes as I launched myself upward in the air, striking him with two leaping kicks then formed an Aero Ripple above him, firing an invisible whirlwind at his back.

The whirlwind knocked him back down, but I used a burst of wind to knock him back upward, ending my combo with a vicious Destiny Flash to his jaw, sending him flying across the battlefield. Silas groaned as he crashed into the branch wall, his body falling straight to the ground.

I landed onto my feet, looking at my fist and letting out a quiet, thoughtful sound. 'That attack definitely felt a bit weaker...this form is draining my stamina quite fast..'

"Whoa, his athleticism is extremely good...but that combo," Cameron said in awe, looking over to where Silas landed after my attack.

"He is trained by the best Mafia and Military Faction of all time. But, something tells me his technique and skill is much deeper than your classic martial arts. He has a bit of everything to him," Lief analyzed, keeping a lazy gaze upon my form.

Silas grunted softly as he slowly stood up from the ground, gritting his teeth and let out a powerful roar, releasing a blast of black flames from his mouth toward me. Before I thought of moving my body to dodge, a golden adamantium shield circled around me, blocking the black flames for me.

I glanced behind me, noticing Reinhart walking forward his his halberd in hand. Silas ended his blast, his eyes meeting Reinhart, watching as he took his lance and shield to stand beside me.

"Ryder...I want to continue being a Golden Crystal. It's all I've ever known, and I want to fight in the name of Lady Anastasia-Aurora Reigns...but I also want to acknowledge you as the Rising King," Reinhart said, looking over at me with a renewed conviction.

"What?! You dare betray us as well?!" Silas roared, shooting a monstrous scowl at Reinhart for his betrayal as well.

Reinhart pointed his halberd at Silas, the blade of his spear becoming encased in flames. "No, I am not betraying the Golden Crystals...I am betraying the false ideals you shaped for us in our time of desperation! I don't care if our city falls anymore, as long as we have Anastasia, we can rise up again!"

"But this time, we rise honestly...through honest and true noble ideals! And the only way we can achieve that, in my eyes, is through a new King who is fit to Advise with our Queen, Ryder Dawn. So far, Ryder has been your judge...but now I am your executioner," Reinhart declared, awakening the will of Excaburn inside him.

Silas laughed at Reinhart's emotional speech, stepping forward to face the both of us at once. "Well then, traitor...you can die alongside your new King. Crystal City has no place for filth like you.."

Reinhart gripped his spear tightly, dashing toward Silas with a blazing might, leaping forward and thrusting his spear toward his chest. Silas evaded his attack swiftly, grabbing the pole of his halberd and yanked Reinhart toward him, striking him with a blast of dark energy.

I rushed forward, catching Reinhart and setting him down, charging toward Silas once again. Silas charged toward me as well, launching the first attack, but I quickly evaded his attack and countered with a series of blows to his stomach.

"You fall us filth for wanting a better world for everyone, but the only filth here is you!" I bellowed, striking Silas with a devastating left hook, knocking him backwards.

I ran forward, knocking him in the air with two rising kicks, using a burst of wind to boost myself above him then knocked him to the ground with a Crescent Kick. Silas crashed onto the ground, landing upon one knee and staggered slightly.

As Silas stood back up, he heard a Tribal Howl in the distance, turning his gaze toward the source and grunted heavily as Phanie landed a devastating spinning kick to his face. Silas groaned as he was knocked back, recovering in the air and landing onto his feet.

He looked up at Phanie, his gaze souring as he locked eyes with her determined gaze. "You as well huh..? Well, I don't mind eliminating all of you!"

"The only one we should delete is you for the honor of Lady Anastasia-Aurora! We don't want to live afraid anymore! We want to live in peace and honor!" Phanie declared, getting into her fighting stance and preparing herself for battle along my side.

I looked back at Phanie, giving her a soft smile then turned my gaze back to Silas, adjusting my gauntlet. "Alright...let's take down Silas for good. Once he's down, we can rebuild from there."

Reinhart nodded, bracing himself for battle against his Advisor, twirling his spear and taking his battle stance. "Right. We will follow your lead."

I nodded, lowering my stance then dashed forward at high speeds. Phanie rose her hood over her head, her body flickering as she vanished at silent speeds. The two of us began rushing around Silas, our bodies trailing behind wind and lightning energy, our speeds causing the winds to pick up.

Together, Phanie and I began striking Silas in sync, rushing around Silas with a blinding assault. I appeared under Silas, sweeping him from his feet, followed by Phanie knocking him in the air with an Aero Judgement.

Reinhart dashed forward as Silas was in the air, taking a heroic leap in the air with his spear ready to strike. "Face my Aegir's Might!"

Silas grunted softly as he opened one eye, noticing Reinhart above him in the air then crafted a darkness shield to block Reinhart's piercing thrust with his halberd, the blade of his spear breaking through the weak point of Silas's protection.

Reinhart bellowed as he drove Silas to the ground, impaling his stomach deeply and gripped his weapon with both hands, spinning Silas around while gutted to his blade. Reinhart's hair began to set ablaze as he leaped in the air, slamming Silas to the ground with tremendous force.

Anastasia watched as the three of us dismantled her strongest piece together, understanding our strength in numbers didn't come for sheer numbers, but from sheer synergy with one another. She silently watched in awe as she watched her own people move in ways they couldn't before under her and Silas's watch.

Silas grunted as he was knocked back once more, panting softly and letting out a cold, exhausted chuckle. He stood up straight, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "You all just won't fall... especially you, Ryder Dawn. You're a slippery one with your little tribal form you have. But...how much longer can you go on?"

My breathing began to grow a bit heavier, my vision becoming blurry due to the strain of my body. 'He's right...the amount of strain on my body right now is slowly killing me. I can't continue the way I am now...'

I powered down, reverting back to my normal state and let out a soft exhale. I looked up at Silas, meeting his eyes directly with a look of challenge. "Hmph...I can go on for as long as I need..."

"Planning to fight me in your base..? An overconfident King will lead to his own demise," Silas hissed, holding his hand out and generating a diabolic orb of darkness. "Get ready for my Flux Ø...this will certainly wipe you from existence!"

"Ryder! You have to dodge that attack! His Type Ø Techniques call upon death itself! You will die!" Reinhart warned, dashing out of Silas's line of fire.

"Take cover, Moi!" Phanie called out, escaping toward the trees to avoid being caught in the cross fire.

"Silas! Stop this now! You're going too far!" Anastasia ordered, stepping toward the battlefield to intervene.

Silas ignored her command, only focused on eradicating me from his equation. He let out a malicious cackle, firing his Flux Ø directly toward me at high speeds. "Say your final prayer's, Dawn! It's time for you to finally fall beyond the horizon!"

Everyone looked shocked as his attack flew toward me at a breakneck pace, the dark energy pulsing through the air with a destructive force. As his orb of energy neared me, miraculously, the wind shifted the direction of his attack, causing it to miss me.

Silas rose an eyebrow, his dark celebration halted by the sudden string of events. He shook his head, firing a volley of Flux Ø spells at me, each sphere of darkness missing me by mere inches, each orb tagging a strand of my hair.

'What is going on..?! Now I really can't hit him?' Silas thought to himself, unable to understand my random streak of luck.

"What..? Silas missed..? No way," Cameron exclaimed softly in awe, looking over at Lief to confirm what he saw.

Lief studied me with a lazy expression, letting out a soft hum. 'Did Silas really miss..? He isn't known to miss any of his big spells..'

〔Phroa: Ahh, so this is what you've been saving~ I knew there was a skill you haven't used all fight other than Charm Mode.〕

I smirked at each of Silas' near misses, rubbing under my nose with a cheeky confidence. 'Of course I'm going to save the most risky ability for last...I'm out of options and can't waste any more unnecessary moves...'

'Lucky Break is ironically my last Lucky Break...We have to take Silas down here and now,' I thought, glancing off to the side to read the effects of Lucky Break from a holographic screen.

〔Lucky Break - The Fool Lv. 1〕

〔Description: This ability randomly creates miracles no matter how small or large, making the user lucky at any point of time. The range of the luck varies between Golden Luck, Heroic Luck, or even Social Luck. Anything is possible with this skill.〕

〔Extra Effects: Boosts Art of Love EXP Gain by 50%, Boosts Credi Gain by 75%, Decreases Talent by 100%.〕

"Eh..? You're sacrificing all of your Talent for this?! This isn't just a gamble, this could be a death wish!"

I listened to Alina's protests, chuckling softly to myself and let out a soft exhale. 'Losing all of my Talent to become Unreasonably Lucky is a fair trade. Right now, I am the Luckiest Man in the World..'

I sprinted toward Silas full charge, letting out a battle cry as I went for a straight punch, but Silas dodged my attack, countering with a left hook. My sheer luck, I managed to lean my body fast enough to evade his attack, countering him with a thunderous knee to his stomach.

Silas groaned heavily, stumbling backwards and clutching his stomach in pain. He let out a frustrated growl, holding his hand out toward me to unleash a Mire Ø at me, but as he concentrated, the wind picked up and knocked an acorn off a tree.

The acorn landed on top of Silas' head, breaking his train of thought to allow Reinhart to go win for a wipe sweep with his spear. He put his all into the swing, cracking Silas upon the middle of his torso and sending him flying backwards.

"Phanie!" I called out, signalling for her to create multiple Aero Ripples around the battlefield.

Phanie watched as I weaved my arms around, understanding my command and nodded in response. She unsheathed her broadsword, taking upon a centered stance and exhaled slowly. 'Be one with the Aero...'

Phanie sliced down, exerting large amounts of energy to cut multiple times in one single slash. After her quick display of swordsmanship, she sheathed her blade, causing the Aero Ripples to take place around us.

"Bernice! Fire an arrow! It doesn't matter where, just do it!" I called out, glancing over toward Bernice in an attempt to get her on board with me as well.

At this point, Donna, Cameron, and Lief were silent, not knowing what Bernice was going to do or if she was going to act at all. Bernice gulped heavily as the spotlight was now on her again, her instinctive reaction to shy away from everyone.

"Listen, I know change is scary...none of you know what will happen if you join me, but on the other end, you know what will happen if you stay where you are. Your city falls either way, but do you want to fall and be forgotten...or do you want to fall and rise even greater than before?" I said, attempting to motivate Bernice into action even if it was a small one.

"You all are the future of your own city. Not only that, you are Anastasia's people, you should want better for her. You should want to make sure she's never in a position to make another choice of evil rooted in good cause. You should want to make sure that she never falls into desperation or corruption again!" I continued, keeping my focus upon Bernice specifically.

Bernice shuddered in slight fear, whimpering softly and hugging her knees as she listened to my speech. As my words began to resonate with her, she opened her eyes and looked back at us, her eyes showing her allies' colors shifted from black to white.

Bernice turned her gaze toward Anastasia, seeing the conflicting expression in her eyes. Deep inside, she wanted better not only for herself, but for all of the Golden Crystals. In that instant, a switch flipped in her mind, placing her back into her Blackspace for a moment.

"For Lady Ana!" Bernice bellowed, rising to her feet and grabbed her bow, summoning a wind arrow at her bowstring and aim.

"Bernice..." Reinhart said with softly gratitude of her choice, a proud smile forming on his face.

"Yay! Bernice is on our side!" Phanie cheered, clapping her hands together.

Bernice bellowed as she fired an arrow directly toward an Aero Ripple, the wind projectile hitting the wind ripple and began to merge into one, the arrow shooting out of the wind ripple at higher speeds.

The arrow began rapidly striking the Aero Ripples, each ripple making it fly faster and grow larger and stronger. It bounced off each ripple at a erratic and unpredictable manner, not a single soul, not even me knowing where the arrow would end up.

Upon another redirection off another Aero Ripple, the wind arrow slammed into the final Aero Ripple, changing its course directly toward me at breakneck speeds. Luckily, Reinhart rushed in front of me with his shield ready, his gaze focused on the speeding, spiralling wind arrow.

"Aegis Parry!" Reinhart bellowed, swinging his shield at the perfect time to deflect Bernice's wind arrow toward Silas, the arrow blasting toward him at impossible speeds.

Silas tried to dodge, but the movement of the arrow was too fast for even his own reaction time and landed its mark, causing a massive wind explosion upon impact. We all grunted heavily as the high winds formed a twister around Silas, rapidly damaging his body.

Lief looked surprised at the result of the attack, his eyes twinkling with impressiveness while he watched the teamwork between Phanie's and Bernice's attack. 'Ryder...you haven't been able to cease to surprise me. The way Bernice's Tempest Arrow reacted to Phanie's Aero Ripples, speeding up and growing stronger with each ripple.'

'They successfully managed to complete Elemental Surge... turning Bernice's Tempest Arrow into Tempest Arrow Ł. Such speeds and power can make any weak elemental attack into a devastating near Ø Spell levels...add that with Reinhart's counter, that's a Æ level technique..' Lief thought to himself, studying the aftermath of our combination attack.

"Whoa! That actually worked? The way it was moving, it was completely random!" Bernice exclaimed, the twinkle returning in her eyes as she looked at the result of her attack.

"I'm just as surprised as you are. That was a complete gamble and had I not stepped in, I don't know what Ryder would've done," Reinhart said, turning his gaze toward me with a mix of concern and respect.

Phanie looked back at me, her eyes shining with awe and underlying admiration, a bright smile forming on her lips. "That was so amazing, Moi! How did you know that would happen?"

I chuckled at everyone's reaction to the combination attack, looking forward and watched as the twister slowly began to disappear. "I have a Godmother who's very skilled at Alchemy and she taught me about Elemental Surge. But also, I trusted my gut...and it led me correctly."

Phanie smiled at my response, turning toward Bernice and giving her a thumbs up. Bernice met Phanie's gaze, a shy smile playing on her lips as she began to shrink down once again.

Silas grunted as he slowly rose to his feet again, ripped leaves and barks slowly falling around him. He looked up at me with burning hatred, his eyes glowing brightly and intensifying into a dreadful red. "I've had enough...this has gone on for far enough!"

Silas began to generate dark winds, propelling himself into the sky and raising his hand on the air. Black lightning began to crackle around his hand, forming a sphere of oblivion energy above him. "I don't care what I have to do to destroy you, Ryder Dawn! You will not take away the power given to us! Now fall to my Hades Z!"

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"Silas no!" Anastasia yelled out, looking up at Silas with blend of fear and uncertainty, covering her mouth in disbelief from how far Silas is going.

"This is too much! Stop it now, Silas!" Donna called out to Silas, using her microphone to try to amplify her voice.

"Don't do this, Silas!" Cameron yelled out, his eyes widening with dread and disbelief.

I stomped my foot down, bellowing as I awakened my Unleash State in full force, veins slowly growing upon my body once again. I began to combine all of the elements I knew into one, forming an orb of iridescent and shifting energies. I gripped my wrist in attempt to control the power in my hand, my aura causing my hair to flow wildly.

"Go all out! Save the Golden Crystals from Silas!"

"Destiny..!" I bellowed, pressing the palms of my hand together and aiming up at Silas.

"Fall! Join the other revolutionaries who dared to step forward! Your career ends here!" Silas roared, sending the large sphere of darkness energy down at the ground with a swipe of his hand.

"Flaaash!!" I roared, unleashing a devasting iridescent blast of energy toward Silas' Hades Z, my attack colliding with his in midair.

Reinhart and Phanie groaned as they were blown away from my energy output, Reinhart sticking his spear into the ground to stop himself and reaching out to catch Phanie's wrist. The two of them watched our final clash in awe, both of them seeing the image of my father within me as they witnessed the ranged version of Destiny Flash.

'What..?! Is that Destiny Flash?! How does this flith know a Redeemer Level technique?! Just who is he?! Why does he exist?!' Silas thought to himself, roaring as he fired multiple smaller orbs of energy at his Hades Z, increasing its power output.

Anastasia watched in terror as Silas' Hades Z began to overpower my Destiny Flash, her heart racing faster as she knew she had an important decision to make, and she had to make it now. She turned her gaze toward the Golden Crystals, each one of their eyes watching the scene in complete horror.

'Anastasia...think! What matters more to you now..? Your safety net with Tony...or true freedom? I don't know...if I betray Tony, they will all target us. It's us against the world! I can't—'

Suddenly, a fist flew at Anastasia's jaw, sending her crashing onto the ground. Anastasia let out a soft cry of pain, holding her cheek and looking up at her attacker, noticing Rhea standing before her.

Rhea reached down to grab Anastasia's sleeve, raising her up to deliver a serious wake up slap to her face. "What are you doing just standing there frozen?! Unlike me, I was given orders to stand by until needed! You are free to act and are too weak to move?! Why should MY Ryder have to risk his life for your city?!"

"Wake the fuck up right now! It's your time to act and save your city! If Silas wins and Ryder dies, I will do WORSE to the entirety of Trinity Valley than whatever the Rich Family could ever do to your entire LINEAGE!" Rhea yelled, her eyes filled with righteous anger at Anastasia's inaction.

Anastasia shivered slightly in Rhea's hold, meeting her eyes with a slightly submissive expression. She looked past Rhea, her eyes finding me behind her and watching as I struggled to resist against the pressure of Hades Z.

Silas laughed as I began to submerge under the pressure of his strongest attack, his grin widening with wicked intent. "This is your end! The end of the Dawns! The End of the Mojis! The End of your story!"

I grunted heavily as his attack pushed further against my beam, the ground beneath me breaking from the added weight of my body. My Unleashed State began to run out, but I let out a roar, pushing my body even further. "Jigoku!!"

Upon my call, a burst of red energy surged around my body, boosting my strength further while also straining my muscles and heart. Blood began trickling from my nose, leaking into the air behind me. 'Even Unleashed Jigoku isn't enough due to my fatigue...! I can't keep going..!'

"Prominence...Storm!"

At my most critical moments, a fiery vortex shot to the sky and struck Silas directly from below, causing him to groan in pain and lose his concentration. With the moment of reprieve granted, I blasted Silas' Hades Z toward the sky, causing the dark energy sphere to explode in the clouds.

Immediately after, my body shut off, causing me to pass out on the ground from pure exhaustion. Reinhart and Phanie quickly got up from their spot, hurrying toward me to check on my vitals. The other Golden Crystals began to come to my side one by one, each of them checking on me after saving them from Silas's destruction.

Silas recovered in the air, shaking his head and looking down to see Anastasia standing firmly against him as well, his heart dropping with betrayal. "Lady Aurora..."

Anastasia looked up at Silas, her eyes full of unshed tears, pain, sorrow, and true duty to her nation. "I've made my decision...Silas. As your Queen...I command you to stand down."

Silas grit his teeth, clenching his fist tightly and glared at Anastasia with a mix of pain and hatred. "You'd take his side over your own people?!"

"I'm not taking his side...my people chose him. They see him as the new King and when my people speak...I listen to The Pure Million...not The Corrupted One," Anastasia said, pointing her axe at Silas with authority.

"Now, don't make me repeat myself..." Anastasia finished, her tone filled with burning intensity.

Silas stared at Anastasia, shaking his head slowly with refusal. "I refuse to follow a Queen who would throw away her own city...for false hope from a nobody..."

Anastasia watched as Silas retreated from the area, stepping forward in attempt to give chase. "Silas!"

"Lady Anastasia! We need healing, Moi's not waking up!" Phanie called out in terror, shaking my body to try and wake me up from my comatose state.

"We need one fast! I can't feel his heartbeat!" Cameron yelled out, turning back toward Anastasia in a panicked state.

Anastasia felt her heart drop, a cold fear now settling in her blood. She hurried toward her group, dropping her axe in the process to come to my aid. Rhea followed quickly behind, hoping that I hadn't pushed myself too far, a million questions running through her mind.